Description

Dahlia Cabana Banana is the kind of flower that looks like it belongs in a cocktail garden. Instead of plain yellow, it carries a creamy, pale-yellow base that warms toward the centre, finished with peach-pink to rosy tips on long, spiky tubular petals — a true bi-colour blend that reads tropical at a glance. In some blooms youll even spot little red freckles or dots near the tips, giving every flower its own personality. Its bright, cheerful, and stands out beautifully in Irish beds that need uplift on dull days, offering a soft tropical glow rather than a harsh neon yellow. This is a reliable mid-to-late season performer, flowering continuously from July to first frost with regular deadheading. The semi-cactus style petals give texture and movement in borders, particularly when late summer light catches the pink edges. A cracking choice for mixed herbaceous borders, coastal gardens, exotic planting styles, public bedding schemes, hotel displays, cut-flower patches and show gardens. Stems are firm enough for cutting, vase life is good, and colour blends well with apricots, corals, soft oranges and contrasting deep plums. Like most dahlias, the dense petals reduce access for nectar-feeding insects — but newly opened blooms are still visited by hoverflies and small bees, especially when planted within a pollinator-supportive planting matrix. Pairing with open-centred companion species dramatically increases ecological value: Salvia, Cosmos, Verbena bonariensis, Calendula, Scabiosa, Rudbeckia, Ammi, Anethum and single-form dahlias all serve as nectar stations around the colour anchor that Cabana Banana provides. This makes it particularly useful in biodiversity-aware ornamental schemes where visual punch and habitat go hand-in-hand. Plant in full sun and moisture-retentive, fertile soil enriched with compost or well-rotted manure. It responds very well to regular feeding, mulching and early staking. Performs reliably in Irish coastal conditions, provided drainage is adequate. In colder inland sites, lift tubers for winter or mulch heavily in milder counties. An ideal pick for tropical palette schemes, warm-tone borders, sensory gardens, late-season show beds, commercial displays and summer planting contracts that demand colour right through autumn.